Ak Bars Arena (; , formerly known as Kazan Arena (; )) is a stadium in Kazan, Russia. It was completed in July 2013, and hosts football matches, especially FC Rubin Kazan's home games in the Russian Premier League. The stadium has the largest outside screen in the world. Its capacity is around 45,379. History The stadium was constructed for the 2013 Summer Universiade. On May 5, 2010, president Putin held the groundbreaking ceremony. The construction of the stadium was completed in 2013. The total cost was 15.5 billion rubles. The stadium hosted the 2013 Summer Universiade opening and closing ceremonies, and 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. On August 17, 2014 the first football match of the Russian Championship was hosted in the Ak Bars Arena. The 16th FINA World Championships were held in Kazan, with some events held at the Arena. It saw twelve swimming records. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the stadium hosted six matches, including the ones where three past champions (Germany, Argentina, and Brazil) were eliminated from the tournament. UEFA announced in March 2020 that the stadium would host the 2023 UEFA Super Cup, however, considering UEFA's reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, this is likely to be retracted. Design The architectural concept has been designed by Populous; according to lead designer Damon Lavelle, the stadium is a unique response to the local culture and place. As a multiple-purpose venture, Ak Bars Arena can be used as football matches and other sporting events, cultural events concerts. With a capacity of 45,379 seats and 28 ha stadium territory, Ak Bars Arena is one of the UEFA´s highest category stadium. The stadium has also 72 skyboxes and a fitness center. The general design stage: "TatInvestGrazhdanProekt", "Intex", "TsNIIpromzdany". It replaced Central Stadium as Kazan's main football stadium. 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup 2018 FIFA World Cup Gallery References External links Official website Stadium information Stadium construction progress Gallery with pictures of the stadium on Sports.ru FC Rubin Kazan Sport in Kazan 2018 FIFA World Cup stadiums Buildings and structures in Kazan Sports venues completed in 2013 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup stadiums 2013 establishments in Russia